1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to transportable seats for transporting children.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Pushchairs and buggies are known for transporting children for walking distances, and car safety seats are known for transporting children in motor cars. Often, a journey made by a child carer or parent and a child includes a walk and a journey by car, and therefore a buggy seat and a car safety seat are needed for such journies, since to meet the requirements of the safety standards set by the authorities it is simply not possible to leave the child in the buggy seat whilst in the car, and a special car safety seat has to be employed.
It is difficult however for carers to transfer children from known buggy seats to known car safety seats and from car safety seats to buggy seats. For example, the harness which holds a child in a buggy first has to be undone before transfer, and after transfer to the car, the safety seat harness to hold the child in the safety seat has to be done up again. Also, a child which has fallen asleep in its buggy or by the motion or sound or the car invariably wakes up when lifted up out of its seat, causing stress to both the carer and child.
Known buggies on the market may either have a collapsible seat and buggy frame or a more comfortable moulded bucket seat. In the former case the seat has the disadvantage of lacking comfort, and in the latter case the seat itself cannot be collapsed and therefore takes up a great deal of space when stored.
A search has revealed a number of published patents in which the concept of a seat which can be moved between a frame attached to the car seat and a buggy frame is suggested. These are GB 2116837A, GB 2197784A, GB 2208109A, GB 2211082A, GB 1546772, U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,795 and EP 164909A2. None of these however address the question of how the seat can be safely and securely attached to the car seat frame and to the buggy frame whilst also being readily releasable therefrom. This is the problem with which the present invention is concerned.